Lithrone Expands Carton And Commercial Business

The Trafford Press Group in Doncaster has doubled its multi colour print capacity following the installation of a new Komori Lithrone 528C press.

The Trafford Press Group in Doncaster has doubled its multi colour print capacity following the installation of a new Komori Lithrone 528C press.

The five-colour press, which is equipped with a coater, is part of a £750,000 investment that also includes a CTP system.

The new Lithrone 528C will enable the family business to expand its carton printing services as well as provide a greater range of high-quality commercial, booklet and magazine work said Komori.

"We produce a wide cross section of commercial print and the Lithrone 528C is extremely efficient at handling high-quality four and five-colour work.

The quick make-ready facilities and high throughput speed enable short and long run jobs to be printed cost effectively.

Turn-around times are improved further by the water-based coater, which allows four and five-colour work to be printed and then sealed or varnished.

In addition, the Lithrone 528 can handle 800 micron board without marking, which makes it particularly suitable for producing carton, folder and point-of-sale jobs.

The Lithrone's ease of use meant that within the first few weeks we were achieving output speeds up to 15,000 sheets per hour (sph) across a wide range of work," said Trafford chairman Richard Hollings.

A last minute urgent order from one of the company's major customers resulted in the new Lithrone 528 being constantly in operation soon after it was commissioned.

"It was a good test of the Lithrone's reliability and it performed without a hitch.

In fact, the entire installation, commissioning and training has been excellent.

One of the areas where Komori is ahead of its competition is in its approach to customer care, both leading up to delivery of the press and afterwards.

We've been operating a two-colour Sprint for many years and Komori's after-sales care has always been a big plus," added Hollings.

The Trafford Press Group, which employs 50 people, supplies companies throughout the UK.

Clients include design and advertising agencies, major print management companies plus several household names locally and nationally.

The company operates in the B2 multi-colour market, specialising in runs from 1,000 to 50,000.

It also serves the B1 single and two-colour markets undertaking work between 1,000 to 500,000, and operates finishing facilities, which enables it to handle packaging and folder work in-house.

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